Metal pot for line-casting machines



June 25, 1.929. H. R. FREUND METAL POT FOR LINE CASTING MACHINES Filed March 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 25, 12 91.

7 FREUND METAL POT FOR LINE CASTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 20, 1928 firmer K. Faun d,

Fries.

HERMAN B. FREUND, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO INTERTYPE CORPORA- TION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METAL POT FOR LINE-CASTING MACHINES;

Application filed March 20, 1928.

. type bar or slug having type charactersalong an edge thereof.

Type bars obtained. in this way have been extensively used in the printing art for the production of stereotype matrices from which stereotype 'plates have been cast for printing or for direct printing from the type bars, but the printing processes more recently used, especially in news paper printing, require the imposition of much heavier impressionpressure upon the type bars than the pressure previously used in the making of the stereotype matrices, and it has been found in practice that some of the type bars have a tendency to break down under such increased pressures, especially when a large number of impressions are made, this tendency to break down of the type bars being due to lack of solidity or to a spongy texture of the type bars caused by the presence of air holes or the mixing of air with the molten type metal during the casting of the type; bars.

Most of the air which becomes mixed with the molten metal during the casting ofthc type bars and causes the difficulties referred to, comes from the space in the throat of the mctal pot between the surface ofthe metal therein and the mouth-piece which fits against the mold, this space filling with air as the molten metal recedes to its normal level following each casting operation, and when the molten metal is injected into the mold for the next casting operation, such body of air is forced into the casting cavity of the mold in advance of the metal being injected, and the relatively rapid force of the injected stream of metal results in a mixture more 01' less, of air and metal in the mold cavity, thus rendering portions of the type bar spongy and hence weak structurally, and also forming imperfections in the type face of the bar which if present will produce imperfections in the printed or other impressions made from such type bars.

Serial N0. 263,195.

in stereotyping processes and which will produce more perfect printed or other impres-, sions. 'According to the present invention, the air contained in that portion of the width of the metal pot throat which is beyond the length of the mold cavity in use is excluded from the mold cavity during the injection of metal therein, the portion of the metal pot throat above the mean practical working level of the metal therein being divided in width by partitions which extend from the said level of the metal, upwardly to the mouth-piece, the partitions thus dividing this space in the throat into a plurality of separate passages which are spaced apart in the direction of the width of the metal pot mouth-piece. Consequently, when the mold is brought into casting relation with the metal pot mouthpiece, the cavity of the mold, which, in newspaper column and. most other classes of printing, occupies only a part of the width of the mouth-piece, will be in position'to receive metal from the passages opposite to the cavity while the closed portion or, remainder of the .mold beyond the end of the cavity in use will block or close the remainder of the passages in the throat, and hence air contained in the latter passages will be held. or trapped therein so that it will not be'forced into the mold cavity, and the relatively small amount of air which enters the mold cavity from the passages through which the metal enters it can be ventedfrom the. mold cavity by the usual means.

Preferably, the passages between the different partitions in the throat of the metal pot are of equal volume and these passages are spaced apart in definite relation to the length of the mold, so that each passage will supply the same amount of metal to each unit length of the mold cavity in use, and the number thereof which. are closed will be determined by the length of the mold cavity used.

The present invention also provides a metal pot mouth-piece having metal injecting orifices and the metal directing walls of which i d are so formed that the molten metal will be projected into the mold cavity in streams which spread in directions longitudinally of the cavity and join or meet one another at tions and arrangements of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out perticularly in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the accompanying drawings:-

Fig. 1 represents a section taken vertically through the casting mechanism of'a line casting machine of the general class hereinbefore referred to, the metal pot being constructed in accordance with the present invention Fig. 2 represents a transverse section taken on the line 22 of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 represents a section on an enlarged scale taken on the line 8,3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 represents a sectiontaken on the line of Fig, 3. i i

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in the several figures.

T lie-preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings whereinl designates generally the metal pot which'may be similar to those commonly used in machines of the general class referred to, the pot comprising a well 2 which contains the metal, used, in casting the type bar, the metal being maintained in a molten state by a suitable burner beneath the pot andthe potcontaining a plunger.

3 which isv forced downwardly at appropriate times to force some of the molten metalthrough a throat 4: upwardlyand forwardly toa mouth-piece 5, thelatterhaving ametal-tight fit against one side of a mold which is, composed usually of a cap. 6,a body 7 and interposed liners 12 and 12 which form a slot or cavity 8 in which the body of the type bar is cast, the opposite face of the mold being closed during the casting operation by a line of matrices 9 which bear type charactersin theiredges which correspond with those to be.

formed on the type bar. l lormal ly, the molten/metal inthe metal pot andin the throat l is at a level between theupper and lower levels A and A for instance, at the mean practical working level indicated, atfA", the metal in the throat 4 receding to. the level of the metal contained in the well2 when the plunger 3 rises following completion of each casting operation. Asthe metal recedes in the throat 4, air, is drawn into the throat, sothat prior to each casting operation, the throat above the metal thereinwill be filled with a; body of air. a

Usually the throat 4 is. of, a width which increases or flares laterally so that its width at the mouth-piece 5 is approximately equal to the length of the longest mold cavity to be used in the machine, and heretofore, this entire body of air has been forced into the casting cavity in the mold by the advance of the metal under the action of the plunger 3, incident to each casting operation, and the introduction of this large amount of air into the mold has resulted in the mixing of the air with the injected molten metal, the type bars thus produced having'porous or spongy portions which weakened the type bars structurally so that the weakened portions were liable to cave in under the increased impression pressures used in the dry mat printing process, and furthermore the mixin of the air with the portion of the metal aforining the type face of the type bars produced imperfections therein and in the impressions obtained from such type bars. Moreover, most printing calls for the use of a mold cavity the length of which is equal to only one half or less of the width of the metal pot throat, and 'the forcing of the large body of air from the entire width of the metal potthroat into a mold cavity of such length increases the difficulties of producing type bars free from spongy or porous portions and from imperfections in the character-bearing edge thereof.

According to the present invention, the throat of the metal pot may be made of substantially the usual full width, but the width of that portion of the throat from the practical working level of the metal therein to the mouth-piece is divided by a number of partitions 10 into av number of separate passages 11 which lead from the said level to the mouth-piece 5. ably so spaced that the passages 11 are of equal width, and each of the passages 11 will correspond with a unit length of the mold cavity used, but other proportional relationships between the spacing of these passages and the, mold cavity may be used, if desired. For example, if a mold is used The partitions are prefer-' which has a cavity of maximum or full width of the metal pot throat and all of the passages 11 will communicate with the mold cavity but when a mold is used which has a cavity of a length equal to onehalf or less of the width of the metal pot throat, as is shown in Figure 8 and which is most fre quently the case in the use of. line casting machines, only fraction, such as two of the passages 11 will communicate with the mold cavity and serve to supply-metal thereto, the remaining passages 11 beyond the mold cavity being opposite to and closed by the portion 12 of the mol d'beyond the cavity therein and which is usually composed of an imperforate or solid liner which is interposed between the cap 6 and the body 7 of the mold and defines the length of the nite unit of length of the mold cavity in usev so that the metal will be introduced substantially equally or uniformly throughout the length of the cavity, it being preferable to proportion the passages 11 so that each passage corresponds with six ems in the length of the mold cavity.

By providing the multiple separate passages extending from the metal level to the 5 metal pot mouth-piece, as described, the

length of the type bar casting cavity in the mold presented to the mouth-piece of the metal pot determines the number of passages which will, conduct the metal to the mold cavity and the remainder'of the passages will be closed by the liner 12 of the solid portion of the mold beyond the cavity therein. In consequence, when the molten metal in the metal pot throat rises under the action of the plunger to cast a type bar in themold cavity, the lower ends of the passagesll not in communication with the mold cavity will be sealed by the rising metal and the air contained in these passages" will be trapped therein so that this air cannot enterthe mold cavity, while at the same time rising metal will flow upwardly through the passages 11 which are in communication with the mold cavity and will thus enter the cavity to cast the type bar therein, the relativelysmall volume of air from these latter passages being vented from the mold cavity by the usual mold ventin g means.

The metal pot mouth-piece 5 which may be fitted in the usual manner upon the metal pot throat and which makes actual contact with the mold is provided with orifices 13 which register with the respective passages 11. These orifices are preferably formed with metal directing walls which insure proper distribution of the molten metal during its injection into the mold cavity. The upper and lower walls 14 and 15 of each orifice are convexed so that they are flared at their metalreceiving ends and are constricted so that they extend parallel or substantially so at their metal-discharge ends. The vertical walls 16 of these orifices are flared toward their metal-receiving ends and are also flared preferably fora relatively shorter distance at their metal-discharge ends. By forming the orifices '13 in this way, the top and bottom walls 14- and 15 of each orifice will direct the metal. horizontally in substantially the form of a sheet conforming with the mold slot or cavity 8 while the vertical walls 16 will cause the metal to spread at each side of the orifices in a direction longitudinally of the mold. slot or cavity, and the flares of the vertical walls 16 of the orifices are preferably so formed that the body of metal injected into the mold cavity from one orifice will meet or join with the body of metal injected therein. from the next adjacent orifice at a point removed within the mold cavity from the edge against which the matrix line 9 fits, as is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 3, this mode of injecting the metal into the ravity insuring the removal of all air from the portion of the mold cavity in which the character-bearing edge of the type bar is cast so that no portion of the character-bearing edge of the type bar will be spongy or porous. The air which is displaced from the mold cavity by the injected metal may be vented therefrom in the usual or any other suitable way, this air being vented from the mold cavity in the present instance by the usual shallow grooves 17 which are formed vertically in the mold engaging face of. the mouth-piece 5, these grooves providing direct exit of the air to the atmosphere.

The invention is shown in the present instance in conjunction with a mold of the con ventional or usual well known class having a slot-shaped cavity to form the usual solidbody slug or type bars, but it will be understood that the invention may be used, with similar advantage, in conjunction with other forms of molds used in machines of this class, such for example, as recessed molds of the class shown and described in Letters Patent No. 1,210,078 granted. on Dec. 26, 1916, to J. Keenan. The reduction in the amount of air entering the mold from the throat of themetal pot, as accomplished by the present invention, enables the mold to be effectually filled with metal so that the type-bearing edge of the type bar will be cast substantially .free of imperfections and this and other porfices will inject metal, and the orifices closed by the liner will not discharge metal. The orifices 13 arein non-eommunicating relation with one another at the surface of the mold engaging face of the mouth-piece, and this face is plane-surfaced, as shown, to fit closely against the correspondingly surfaced rear face of the mold, to form a metal tight joint therewith.

I claim as my invention 1. A metal pot for line casting machines.

having a throat for conducting metal upwardly from the pot to the mold-engaging face thereof, the space in the throat above the metal leveltherein being divided into a plurality of separate passages which are spaced in the direction of the width of the throat and extend longitudinally therein from the metal level therein to the mold-engaging face.

2. A metal pot for line casting machines having a. throat for conducting metal upwardly therethrough to the mold-engaging mouth-piece, the space in the throat above the metal level therein being divided in the direction of the width ofthe throat, into a plurality of separate passages which lead from the inetalilevel in the throat to the mouth-piece, and the mouth-piece having separate metal injecting orifices which'are in alignment with and extend from the respective passages in the throat to the moldengaging face of the mouth-piece.

3. A netal pot for line casting machines having a throat for conducting metal upwardly to the mold-engaging face thereof, the space in the throat above the metal level thereinbeing divided into a plurality of separate metal-conducting passages which are spaced in the direction of the width of the throat and lead upwardly therein from the metal level to the inolihengaging face and arenon-communicating throughout their length and at the surface of the mold-engaging face. i

l. In a line casting tion of a nold having a cavity for the casting of type bars therein and a closed portion beyond an end of said cavity which determines its length, and a metal pot having a throat for conducting metal upwardly tothe mold-engaging face of the pot, the space in the throat above the metal level therein being divided into a plurality of separate passages which are spaced in the direction of the width of the throat an d extend from the metal level there.- in to the mold-engaging face, metal-injecting orifices being formed for the respective passages at the mold-engaging face. which are out of communication with each other and are positioned so that some of said orifices will be closed by the closed portion of the mold when the latter is brought into casting. position while others are in communication with the mold cavity.

5. In a line casting machine the combination of a mold having a liner which determines the length of the casting cavity there in and a metal pot having a throat for conducting inetalupwardly from the pot to the moldengaging face thereof, the space in the throat above the metal level therein being divided, in the direction. of the width of the throat, into a plurality of separate passages which extend upwardly from the metal level therein to the mold-engaging face and are provided at said. face with non-communicatmachine, the combinaing metal injecting orifices which are positioned at a height to communicate with the mold cavity and are sufliciently small vertically to be closed by the mold liner so that I some of saidorifices will be placed in communication with the mold cavity and other orifices will be closed by the mold liner when the mold and the mold-engaging face of the metal pot are brought into contact.

6. In a line casting machine, the combina,

7. A metal pot for line casting machines l having a mold-engaging mouth-piece provided with a metal-injecting orifice the top and bottom of which are flared in a direction away from the mold-engaging face and the end.

walls of which are flared toward. the moldeii-g ging face.

8. In a line casting machine, the combination of a mold having a longitudinal slug casting cavity therein, and a metal. pot havmg a mold-engaging mouth-piece provided with a plurality of inetal-iii-]ecting orifices spaced longitudinallythereof, the end walls of said orifices being convexed so that said orifices flare in a direction toward the moldengaging face, said flare being operative to spread the streams of metal injected into the mold: so that the streams of metal from adj a cent orifices will meet within the mold cavity at points removed from the portion thereof in which the character-bearing edge of the slug is cast.

9iv Ina line casting machine, adapted to employ molds having slug-casting cavities therein of different lengths, a metal pot havinga throat for conducting metal upwardly to the mold-engaging face of the pot, the space in the throat being divided into a plurality of separate passages which are spaced in the direction of the width of the throat and lead upwardly therein from the metal level to the mold-engaging face, said passages being of equal area and each passage corresponding with a definite unit of length: of.

the moldcavity in the mold engaged by the metal pot. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set iy hand. 7

HERMAN R. FREUND. 

